


Bits and Pieces

by MonstersandMortals



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-08
Updated: 2013-04-08
Packaged: 2017-12-07 22:06:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/753605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonstersandMortals/pseuds/MonstersandMortals
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a oneshot following Episode 11, Season 3 "Order Room Service" and also based on the promos shown for Episode 12. Ian has decided to enlist in the army and is boarding the bus when Mickey arrives to try and stop him from leaving. This was written before Episode 12 was aired so it's not true to the current storyline but this is how I hoped things would turn out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bits and Pieces

The bus started up with a dull roar, then remained idling. Ian sat alone, staring at the back of the seat in front of him. There were not many other recruits on board. The other boys sat further back, individually seated and fidgeting anxiously. Ian heard one of them give a shuddering sigh. He wondered who all of them were leaving behind.

“Alright, men. Sit tight, get comfortable. We’ll be off in a few minutes as soon as our driver here double-checks something beneath the hood.” The recruiting officer, decked out in his camouflage uniform and heavy boots, stood at the front of the bus. He stared hard at the half-dozen recruits in front of him, blinked, then looked down at his clipboard as he lost interest in their faces.

Ian felt sick to his stomach. He was leaving the only home he had known and he was scared. He wanted to see Mickey. But he doesn’t want to see you, does he? Not really. Maybe he cares but not enough to fight for you. Maybe it was time to forget about the whole thing, to focus on the future. Without Mickey. Even though you can’t forget his eyes, can you? When he insults you, they say ‘I don’t mean it, you know I care.’

“Excuse me, can I help you? Hey, h- What do you think you’re doing?”The bus driver was yelling at someone outside. “Hello?”

Everyone moved, peering through their windows to see what was going on. The officer cursed under his breath, “Fucking asshole kids.”

From outside, “Gimme a fuckin’ minute, alright.”

Ian knew that crass voice, he would know it anywhere. “Mickey,” he whispered hoarsely.

He stepped across the aisle to look out the window opposite his seat, and saw Mickey approaching the bus, gripping a large hunting knife. The bus driver moved around the hood of the vehicle fearfully but Mickey’s attention was on the rear bus tire. He clenched the handle of the knife between both hands and plunged it into the dusty rubber. He then pulled back with such force that he staggered for a moment when the knife came free.

The driver and officer both swore as air steadily leaked out of the tire. The recruits were too stunned to do much other than stare.

“Ian Gallagher!” Mickey called, backing away from the bus with his arms outstretched and a slight grin on his face.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Mickey was nervous. As nervous as he had been during that first kiss and the second. But he held that grin, shaky as it felt, because he’d be damned if he let himself be overwhelmed before he said what he had to.

“Gallagher, I know you’re in there, c’mon. This is fucking stupid. You’re not going anywhere in this piece of shit so get out here and talk to me, goddammit.” Carefully, Mickey put the knife back in its leather sheath and put it back in his pocket.

The bus doors opened and Ian stood on the last step. His expression was a little angry, a little confused. Underneath that, though, was just sadness.

You fucked up big, Mick. He thought to himself. Now you have one chance to fix it or Gallagher’s going to sit his ass back down on that bus and leave. Man up and stop letting him down, he deserves more than that.

“What are you doing here, Mickey?” Ian said, tired. He ran a hand through his red hair and took several steps across the pavement.

Mickey licked his bottom lip and swallowed. “I’m trying to stop you from making a huge-ass mistake, alright? Getting shipped out to who-knows-where and dying? What the fuck does that do?” Silence. “You’re gonna leave your family when they want you to stay, when they need you?”

“Fiona has everything taken care of, and Lip’s still at home. They’ll miss me but they’ll be glad for one less mouth to feed. Is that what this is really about, Mick, that my family needs me to stay? Really?” Ian’s eyes were going glassy. He sighed, then gave a small, sad laugh. “I don’t know what to fucking say anymore, I’ve said it all and you didn’t give me anything. I can’t go on with these bits and pieces of a commitment I never even really got, Mickey.”

The shorter boy’s heart beat faster and his vision blurred. He felt his face crumple a little but he crossed the distance between him and Ian until there were only a few short steps separating them. He felt the eyes of the recruits and the army officer on him but, fuck, what did that matter? Who were they to him, compared to what Ian was? Ian was more than a few messy hook-ups; he was more than a shared smoke in the baseball dugout. He was the tender bruises left on Mickey’s hips after they collapsed, exhausted, on top of one another. He was the tight, breathless feeling Mickey got in his chest when they were putting their clothes back on and their gazes locked. And that kiss. Not the first one, that was a momentary connection of their lips, half because Mickey had dared himself to. The second kiss, before his wedding, that was some kind of spark that he didn’t even know he could feel. Ian was practically everything. He’d get much more than bits and pieces.

“You want me to get a divorce?” Mickey’s throat was raspy and dry as he said quietly, while looking Ian in the eye, “Done. Whatever you want, Gallagher. I just… I need you to stay.” He moved closer so that they were nearly touching now.

Ian searched his eyes, “Really? What about the baby, what about your dad? Jesus, he’ll try to finish us both.”

“I don’t know yet, but we’ll figure something out. Shit like that can wait.” Mickey reached out and cupped the red head’s face with both rough hands. Take a chance. “Ian…Fuck, I love you.” Softly. Pleadingly. Don’t say you don’t feel the same. Please.

Ian’s mouth gently spread into a joyful smile and his eyes shone. He wrapped his arms around Mickey’s torso, pulled him closer, then he brought his head down to meet Mickey’s lips halfway. “And I love you.”

The end.


End file.
